This invention relates generally to drying devices and, more particularly, for a drying apparatus for use in drying the padding of athletic headwear that is saturated with perspiration.
Many sports require or encourage players to wear various forms of headgear for safety purposes. For instance, football players, hockey players, and baseball players wear helmets as head protection. Each helmet includes foam padding that is typically covered with a layer of fabric. As a player perspires during practice or a ball game, the fabric and foam padding may become moist or even soaked with perspiration. The padding may generate a foul odor and be uncomfortable for a player to rest his head against. After practice or game play, a player may seek to launder the sweat-soaked padding and then dry it to be ready for a next use.
Various products exist and various patent proposals have been made available concerning drying wet or dampened materials. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the prior art does not show clear teaching of a drying apparatus upon which the head gear itself may rest or be supported thereon and that includes the use of moisture absorbing crystals positioned to absorb moisture from the head gear.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a drying apparatus having a main reservoir that is configured to support a helmet and to contain a plurality of moisture absorbing crystals such that the crystals absorb the moisture out of the perspiration soaked helmet padding. Further, it would be desirable to have a drying apparatus having a funnel for collecting the moisture absorbed from the helmet padding and for depositing the collected moisture into a collection reservoir for disposal. In addition, it would be desirable to have a drying apparatus whose size is adjustable to support helmets of different sizes that are in need of being dried.